Using this, that, these or those

Introduce the skill with a brief whole-class activity, such as calling out examples and asking students to give a thumbs up when they hear demonstratives in a sentence. Then let students work through the worksheet independently or in pairs, referring to a class anchor chart if one is available. When reviewing answers, ask students to explain why an answer is correct rather than just confirming it. These demonstratives worksheets work well as a focused practice activity, a homework assignment, or a warm-up at the start of a language arts lesson.

These demonstratives worksheets for 1st grade give students the targeted language arts practice they need to master this important grammar skill. Students identify, sort, complete, and write using demonstratives through a variety of exercises designed to reinforce both recognition and application. Our demonstratives worksheets connect grammar practice to reading and writing so students see how demonstratives works in real language. Building a solid understanding of demonstratives in 1st grade sets students up for stronger writing and clearer communication in every subject.

This worksheet is designed for 1st Grade students (Ages 6-7), aligned to Common Core standard L.1.1.D. It can also be used as review for early students at the next grade level or as an introduction for advanced students.

Yes. This worksheet works for homeschool, classroom, and tutoring settings. Print individual pages for targeted practice, or print the full set as a packet. Works great as a morning warm-up, independent center activity, or fast-finisher task.

Demonstratives are the words this, that, these, and those, which point to specific nouns and indicate their distance from the speaker. This and these refer to things that are near (this book in my hand, these crayons on my desk), while that and those refer to things that are farther away (that tree outside, those birds in the sky). This and that are singular, while these and those are plural. CCSS L.1.1g specifically requires first graders to use frequently occurring demonstratives. Most children use demonstratives naturally in speech but benefit from explicit instruction to use them correctly in writing and to understand the near/far and singular/plural distinctions. Worksheets that present pictures showing near and far objects and ask children to choose the correct demonstrative (this or that? these or those?) make the abstract concept visual and concrete. Teaching demonstratives helps first graders write with greater precision and follow directions that use pointing language in classroom and academic contexts.

Teaching demonstratives to first graders works best through physical demonstration and practice with real objects in the classroom. Hold up a pencil and say this pencil is yellow. Then point to a poster across the room and say that poster is blue. Pick up several crayons and say these crayons are mine. Point to chairs across the room and say those chairs are empty. The physical proximity makes the near/far distinction immediate and memorable. Create a sorting chart: near (this, these) and far (that, those), with a second sorting layer for singular (this, that) and plural (these, those). Worksheets that show a child standing near one object and far from another, with blanks to fill in the correct demonstrative, reinforce the concept. Practice sentences where children choose the correct word (look at ____ stars in the sky / ____ book in my hand) build application skills. Games where one child describes an object using a demonstrative and others guess which object they mean (I want that ball. Which one?) make practice interactive. Consistent use of demonstratives in daily classroom language reinforces what worksheets teach.

The best first-grade demonstrative worksheets use visual cues to reinforce the near/far and singular/plural distinctions. Picture-based worksheets showing a child with nearby objects and distant objects, with blanks for students to fill in this, that, these, or those, are the most effective format. Sorting worksheets where students categorize sentences by which demonstrative they need develop analytical thinking about proximity and number. Sentence completion worksheets (look at ____ flowers in the garden, with a picture showing flowers far away from a child) provide contextual practice. Matching activities that connect this to a picture of one nearby object, those to a picture of several distant objects, and so on, build the four-way distinction. Error correction worksheets where students find and fix demonstrative mistakes (look at these mountain over there should be that mountain or those mountains) develop proofreading awareness. Choose worksheets that present all four demonstratives on the same page so students practice distinguishing between them rather than using one in isolation. These formats align with CCSS L.1.1g and provide the repeated practice needed to move demonstrative use from speech into confident, accurate writing.